About Melinda Martin“It looks self-published.”How many times have we read that comment in a critique thread? I know I’ve said it myself many times.But it clanged in my own ears when I recently said this to a new author. Before hiring me, this author had been working with a very talented illustrator for several weeks.So why did the book look "self-published"?It’s not because the author was self-publishing. I design beautiful, award-winning books for my self-publishing clients all the time.From the outside looking in, the author was doing everything right. He has a high level of education, isn’t a vanity author, has a huge platform that is ready to purchase the book, runs a very successful business, has good taste in art, and he was investing $8K in an illustrator.The simple answer is neither the author nor the illustrator had the experience necessary to give this book its best chance at success. Thankfully, the author self-evaluated and was able to go from stage 1 to stage 2 of the competence curve very quickly.I have been designing books for 10+ years, and I call myself the missing link.https://melindamartin.me/----------------------------------When It Worked Podcasthttps://getoffthedamnphone.com/podcast